Simon Quick Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Simon Quick Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 6.4% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,555 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 215 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $1,066,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 178.6% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 78 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Morningstar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in Morningstar by 49.5% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Morningstar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. boosted its position in Morningstar by 64.2% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 271 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Caroline J. Tsay sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.84, for a total transaction of $61,968.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,346,254.80. The trade was a 4.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.15, for a total transaction of $2,139,837.50. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 9,506,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,805,744,894.90. This represents a 0.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 53,569 shares of company stock valued at $16,333,474 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 36.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Morningstar from $339.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th.

Morningstar Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:MORN opened at $305.57 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $12.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.37 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $293.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $312.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Morningstar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $250.34 and a fifty-two week high of $365.00.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $581.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $589.07 million. Morningstar had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 23.28%.

Morningstar Company Profile

Morningstar, Inc provides independent investment insights in the United States, Asia. Australia, Continental Europe, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company operates in five segments: Morningstar Data and Analytics; PitchBook; Morningstar Wealth; Morningstar Credit; and Morningstar Retirement.